ARC Rural Ministry Course

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ARC Rural Ministry Course

• Presence and Seeds in Holy Ground

Rev. Elizabeth Clark MA
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Mission.

• Mission is the overflow of our
• encounter with God. Mission is
• not, therefore, our work but
• Gods.
• (Bishop Alan Smith, Page 54)

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• Presence starts from the very challenging concept
  that every community, if it is to be whole,
  balanced and healthy, needs at its heart a
  committed group of Christians.
  (Presence, Page 14)
• The task of promoting an effective Christian
  Presence in the communities of Britain is now
  beyond any one of the Christian denominations and
  therefore an effective Christian presence will
  always be ecumenical.
• (Presence, Page 14)

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Ecumenical Models.

• A complementary presence
• A denominational presence
• A united Presence

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Incarnational.

• The church and individual Christians are called
  to focus the presence of God in their
  communities.
• Based on the concept of kenosis self-emptying, I
  came not to be served but to serve Jesus said.

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• To be a servant church we must first and foremost
  be a listening church taking time to understand
  the community in which we are placed.
• We need to be present in ways that are effective
  and connected to our communities.
• An effective village presence might well not be
  building based or Sunday based.

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Three marks of an effective Christian Presence

• Priestly
• Prophetic
• Evangelising

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Priestly.

• Before we can be a mission shaped church, we need
  to be God shaped people.
• (Smith, Page 54)
• Offering to God adoration, praise, gratitude,
  penitence and intercession on behalf of the whole
  community.
• Celebrating the story of Gods self giving and
  redeeming love in word and sacrament.

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• Reaching out to the community in acts of grace,
  love and kindness.
• Making known through its presence and its life
  the creating, redeeming and sustaining God
  revealed in Jesus Christ and known through the
  Holy Spirit.
• Demonstrating the reality of Gods purpose to
  reconcile all things to himself in relationships
  of acceptance and forgiveness.

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Prophetic.

• To affirm that God is Love is to be a person
  concerned about the profound inequalities in the
  world.
• (Smith, Page 55)
• Accepting and challenging others to obey the call
  to Christ-like living.
• Setting before the church and the world the
  values of the Kingdom of God.

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• Interpreting those values into the everyday life
  of the community.
• Recognising and challenging injustice.
• Standing alongside, empowering and enabling the
  oppressed and vulnerable.
• Challenging people to recognise their
  responsibility to the world community.

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Evangelising.

• Interpreting the story of Gods love for every
  community and every generation.
• Witnessing to what God can do in the life of
  individuals and communities.
• Setting the claims before people and challenging
  them to response.

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• Enabling a gracious encounter with the God whose
  redeeming love is for everyone.
• Creating and maintaining welcoming communities
  where people can be nurtured in discipleship.

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Community Events.

• Being present at Community Events.
• Agricultural Festivals.

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Pastoral Offices.

• Baptisms and Weddings.
• Funerals.

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Any Questions???
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Questions and Activities.

• Prepare a questionnaire for church council
  members to complete anonymously in which they can
  identify skills, gifts or abilities they see in
  other members and in you.

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• Where and by whom are decisions made that affect
  your pitch?
• What networks are you aware of?
• With what networks are you involved?
• What important flows of people are there into
  and out of the community?

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• What other worshipping groups are there in your
  community?
• What links are there between you, either formal
  or informal?

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• Who worships regularly in your
• congregation?
• Are people with other denominations or faith
  allegiances among them?
• Do any of these also worship at a church of
  another denomination?

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ARC Rural Ministry Course

• Presence and Seeds in Holy Ground

Rev. Elizabeth Clark MA